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X Purges Prominent Journalists, Leftists With No Explanation, including TrueAnonPod (www.vice.com)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by geese_feces@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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The suspensions affected several journalists and commentators, including Texas Observer journalist Steven Monacelli, Ken Klippensten of The Intercept, podcaster Rob Rousseau, and Alan MacLeod of MintPress News. The landing page for their accounts says it’s been suspended, but does not give any explanation as to why. A message on the profiles simply states “X suspends accounts which violate the X rules.”

The ban didn’t just hit journalists either. Several prominent-left leaning accounts were also purged from the website, including the account for the TrueAnon podcast and @zei_squirrel, a cartoon squirrel that tweets media criticism of figures like Glenn Greenwald.

This isn't the first time the site has banned reporters. In April, it permanently suspended Wired reporter Dell Cameron after he spoke with a hacker who accessed conservative pundit Matt Walsh’s emails. In December of 2022, it suspended the accounts of ten journalists who’d been critical of site owner Elon Musk.

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-x-twitter-journalists-banning-spree-1851151593

https://twitter.com/liz_franczak/status/1744712132015370527

Edit: they're back now

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[-] Kaplya@hexbear.net 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

It’s the same reason why Linux is the free and even superior alternative to Windows and Mac, but most people will never use it. There are, of course, adoption, but it will never achieve the critical mass needed to displace the dominant systems. Most people will just follow whatever everyone is using, and the platforms that have already penetrated the entire depth of the market, and have the most capital, will always have a very strong head start against their competitors.